Ridley Scott Dishes On Why 'Prometheus' Is More Epic Than 'Alien'

Comparing 'Prometheus' to his 1979 iconic creation, Ridley says that the Noomi Rapace-starring space thriller is 'going to have to ask larger questions' that 'opens up into a huge arena.'

As it gets closer to the U.S. release of "Prometheus", director Ridley Scott managed to spare some time to discuss his vision of his latest sci-fi creation. Sharing to Flicks and Bits, the "Gladiator" helmer explained the connection between the upcoming space thriller and 1979's "Alien" and what makes the Noomi Rapace-starring movie more "epic" than the one featuring Sigourney Weaver.

"The original film, 'Alien', was kind of boxed into an old dark house theory, with seven people wondering around. Then an eighth presence that became very dangerous," Ridley said. "So in a sense it was a very contained movie. I knew that by stepping out of that arena, what I must do would have to be kind of epic."

He continued, "In the sense of it's going to have to ask larger questions, bigger questions. The starting block questions was always: Who was the skeleton in the seat, in the 'Alien' movie? What did he mean, what was his intention by having such a cargo? And once you open that door and you step through into that new world, then it opens up into a huge arena. There's absolutely no problem in filling the walls in what would be called 'epic'."

Ridley also explained why he preferred to use practical sets instead of CGI for "Prometheus". He said, "You know, CGI is purported to be saving money and cheaper, but it's not," before adding, "My preference is to build as much set as possible. Mainly because I want to keep the actors really engaged. If I give the actor a great room, they're gonna walk into that room and come alive. If the actor walks into a green screen box, the actor could feel exposed."

On what he expects from the movie, Ridley gushed, "First of all I hope they are really entertained, and then I hope they're really frightened - and I hope they're really stressed to hell (laughs). And then, most of all, I hope that they talk about it afterwards in the car par, wherever they go to eat afterwards, and then breakfast time tomorrow morning (laughs)."